Buyer’s agent in Melbourne

Buying real estate in Melbourne is daunting for many home buyers and property investors. Using a buyer’s agent in Melbourne will ensure that you are not only buying the right home for your current needs, but one that will pay dividends in the future.

At Buyers Agent Guide we help you find an agent and understand how to make the most of their skills. Find a buyer’s agent in Melbourne and get on the path to property success.

Not sure how a property expert can help you?

Whether buying your first home, upgrading, or making an investment, using an independent agent cuts down on legwork and removes uncertainty from many stages of the buying process. Support from someone with market knowledge and negotiating expertise gives you the competitive advantage in Melbourne’s complicated market.

Aside from helping you to narrow your search and identify suitable properties, an advisor will have insight into the growth prospects of specific locations as well as knowledge of plans for development. Agents spend significant time staying on top of market data, reading industry analysis and investigating demographic trends to gain an understanding of the complex factors that affect home prices. This intelligence can be used to your advantage and is invaluable in ensuring that your investment is a wise one.

At the upper end of the market, prestige property in Melbourne has experienced a bounce in buyer activity with increased confidence and perceived value strengthening.

Recent changes to the Victorian government’s home buyer incentives have also resulted in increased activity, mainly from first home buyers. The latest figures from ABS (data as of November 2012) showed a 17% increase in loan approvals for first time buyers in the first 11 months of 2012 compared to the prior corresponding period.

Despite increased activity from these groups the rest of the market has been more restrained, with the ABS reporting that overall loan approvals for residential investors are down 6%.

Melbourne continues to be one of the capital cities with a higher median house price. For the three months to February 2013, the median house price was $520,000, well above the capital city benchmark of $485,000. The median unit price tracked close to the benchmark being only $5,000 above the average at $420,000 (see figure 1).

Figure 1 – Median house and unit prices (3 months to February 2013)

Melbourne’s gross rental yields continue to be the lowest performing of all capital cities.

As of February 2013, houses averaged a yield of 3.6% compared to units’ 4.4%. This underperformance has been reflected in falling property prices.
The market shrunk by 0.7% over the year in contrast to the capital city benchmark of 1.3% growth. As a result, Melbourne is one of only three capital cities to have a fall in property prices over the year, in the company of Adelaide and Hobart (see figure 2). House values weren’t as heavily impacted as unit prices, falling by 0.6%, whereas units dropped by 1.4% over the year.

Figure 2 – Annual change in capital city property values

Property purchase volumes tracked downwards over 2012 in Melbourne with RP Data estimating that property sales were down 5.3% compared to the prior year. This put sales for the year at 19% below the rolling five year average.

Figure 3 – Decline in property values from their peak (to February 2013)

Figure 4 – Average annual change in property values (past 5 years to February 2013)